Gardening A-Z

Grass grubs leave small holes in the grass which look like a pencil has been stabbed into the grass.

This sounds like white butterfly, white fly or leaf hoppers.

Simply hose them off with a strong stream of water and spray the plant with Neem, an organic oil sold at Awapuni Nurseries.

Aphids leave rose leaves looking curled, distorted and yellow. To rid your plant of aphids simply hose them off with a strong stream of water and spray the plant with Neem, an organic oil sold at Awapuni Nurseries.

If your leaves look dull and are stippled with white dots then you most likely have spider mites. They love nice, warm, still spots so are usually found on plants, particularly rhodoendrons and roses, next to the house or under the eves.

This is a great recipe for repelling White fly...

In the winter stockpile all those wood fire ashes into clean paper sacs. Sprinkle them around the border of your garden or around individual plants. Reapply after rain.

The rinds of citrus fruit contain citrus oil. Its sweet smell is harmless to people and pets but repels many insects. Because some plants are sensitive to citrus oil, be sure to test first...

Buxus Psyllid is a pest that deforms the new growth in box hedging, often in spring. It also affects many Pittosporum varieties.

Buxus Psyllid is a pest that deforms the new growth in box hedging, often in spring.

The cause of this problem is most likely caterpillars.

Try spraying the plants with a brew of Neem oil and fish-based liquid fertiliser.

I was just wondering if you have any special tips on how to get rid of slugs in the lawn, our lawn is a mess.

We live at Riversdale on the Wairarapa Coast and many of our trees seem to be defoliated by a nasty brown beetle which lives in the ground.

At night they emerge and climb up the trees and devour the leaves in some cases leaving just bare branches. Is there a cost-effective solution?